Saturday, 11 November 2017

Remembrance Sunday

By Special Collections Toronto Public Library from Toronto, Canada (In Flanders' Fields)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on rowThat mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe,To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1915)

During the early days of the second battle of Ypres, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer a young Canadian artillery officer was killed when a German shell exploded at his feet. A close friend of his was Major John McCrae, a Canadian military doctor and artillery commander who officiated at his burial. The next morning John McCrae wrote the poem which is one of the most famous war poems ever written which inspired the use of the poppy as a symbol of rememberance.

Sadly he died in January 1918 of pneumonia and meningitis in Wimeraux, France. He was 45 years old.

You can read more about John McCrae's life here. There are some wonderful photographs of him, his dog & also his horse.

Winifred, I am touched by this...I will look him up. I read the poem from the card before I noticed you had typed it out. Pretty good for having cataracts! This life is filled with such sad things. (including cataracts!) Have you watched any of the 'sheep to sweater' competition? It is probably not current...but filmed and on Netflix via 'Slow Tv'. Its fun to watch. I spin and knit some and find it very interesting.

You did well to read that card, cataracts are a pain, I have them too but so far not too badly affected. I can still drive OK. Thankfully they can be removed. Eventually!

We don’t have Netflix and I haven’t heard of this. I’ll look it up & see if it’s on the Internet. Sounds good. I have never spun just knitted & crocheted that’s hard enough. Spinning looks really difficult.